NOTES FROM THE SCOTTISH ZOOLOGICAL PARK 63 



NOTES FROM 

 THE SCOTTISH ZOOLOGICAL PARI^"'^'\S 



Brown Bear Litters. — For the third year in succession, 

 Brown Bear cubs have been born in the Zoological Park, and in 

 connection with the births some interesting facts are worth recording. 

 There are two pairs of brown bears in the Park. The two females 

 were acquired by purchase in 1913 before the Park was opened, 

 and (with the exception of a Gannet) they are the oldest inhabitants 

 of the Park. The two males were bred in the Clifton Zoological 

 Garden, and were presented to the Park in 19 15. It was not, 

 however, until the summer of 1919 that the bears were mated, 

 and on 13th January 1920 the smaller of the two females (which 

 has retained from cubhood the name of "Baby") gave birth 

 to its litter, and was followed on the i6th of the same month by 

 the other female (known as " Daisy "). The female bears were 

 provided with dark sleeping dens, and in these they built up 

 their straw bedding into a kind of nest, in which they were 

 very careful to lie so that the cubs were concealed by their bodies. 

 As is the case with most carnivores, bear cubs are born blind 

 and helpless, and in bears development is particularly slow; nearly 

 a month passed before the cubs had their eyes open, and they 

 were ten weeks old before they were known, with certainty, to 

 have left the sleeping den for the outer cage. About this time 

 the small female ("Baby"), which was found to have only one 

 cub, was discovered one day with the cub in the outer cage, 

 using it very roughly, and giving ground for a suspicion that she 

 was tired of it and inclined to kill it. It was accordingly taken 

 from her and reared quite successfully by hand feeding. The 

 other female had three cubs in her litter, which she reared herself. 

 They were afterwards disposed of— two going to Calcutta and 

 one to Dublin. 



In 1 92 1 the larger female gave birth to cubs — this time on 

 the 27th January — and the voice of more than one cub was heard; 



